Readers,
This is a fascinating story about
Thomas of Lancaster and the persons
and events that played an important part in his
life in a very turbulent time.
But like
all fascinating stories, it is not told
in two minutes. It is a real longread.
My advice to my you:
READ IT LIKE A BOOK!
Don’t read all chapters at one time,
because you will be overwhelmed, unless
you are totally fascinated.

Or when you are pressed with time, with time, read the Epilogue,

which gives my final opinion about Thomas of Lancaster and a

summary of this fascinating story….

To understand the political situation
in the early fourteenth century, especially
chapter one, four and five are important.
Chapters six describes the outbreak of the
war between Thomas and his cousin
the King, the chapters seven and eight the
dramatic end.
Chapters nine and ten, what happened
thereafter.

And I end with the Epilogue, giving my final opinion

about the life and activitities of Thomas of Lancaster.

Read all the Chapters with care and attention and you
will enter the Medieval world…..

Readers,
This is a fascinating story about
Thomas of Lancaster and the persons
and events that played an important part in his
life in a very turbulent time.
But like
all fascinating stories, it is not told
in two minutes. It is a real longread.
My advice to my you:
READ IT LIKE A BOOK!
Don’t read all chapters at one time,
because you will be overwhelmed, unless
you are totally fascinated.

Or when you are pressed with time, with time, read the Epilogue,

which gives my final opinion about Thomas of Lancaster and a

summary of this fascinating story….

To understand the political situation
in the early fourteenth century, especially
chapter one, four and five are important.
Chapters six describes the outbreak of the
war between Thomas and his cousin
the King, the chapters seven and eight the
dramatic end.
Chapters nine and ten, what happened
thereafter.

And I end with the Epilogue, giving my final opinion

about the life and activitities of Thomas of Lancaster.

Read all the Chapters with care and attention and you
will enter the Medieval world…..

Edward II’s coronation oath: translation

Sire, will you grant and keep and by your oath confirm to the people of England the laws and customs given to them by the previous just and god-fearing kings, your ancestors, and especially the laws, customs, and liberties granted to the clergy and people by the glorious king, the sainted Edward, your predecessor? I grant and promise them. Sire, will you in all your judgments, so far as in you lies, preserve to God and Holy Church, and to the people and clergy, entire peace and concord before God? I will preserve them.Sire, will you, so far as in you lies, cause justice to be rendered rightly, impartially, and wisely, in compassion and in truth? I will do so. Sire, do you grant to be held and observed the just laws and customs that the community of your realm shall determine, and will you, so far as in you lies, defend and strengthen them to the honour of God? I grant and promise them.

EDWARD II AND ISABELLA IN FICTION/REACTION TO THE
COMMENTS OF KATHRYN WARNER [EDWARDTHESECONDBLOGSPOT]
ABOUT ”THE SHE WOLF OF FRANCE” BY MAURICE DRUON

This [rather long] article is divided in

A

KATHRYN WARNER’S POSTS

B

HISTORY OF THE FIRST HALF OF THE FOURTEENTH
CENTURY/
ENGLAND AND FRANCE

C

MY COMMENTS ON THE POST OF KATHRYN WARNER
ON HER BLOG: EDWARDTHESECONDBLOGSPOT

D

TEXT OF KATHRYN WARNER’S POST, ON WHICH
I COMMENT
TO MY READERS

In this article, for the second time a critical comment
on historian/writer Kathryn Warner’s remarks about
the historical novel ”The She Wolf of France”, from
the French historian/writer Maurice Druon.

Below I give my readers a further explanation
about Warner’s posts as well [what’s more important!]
background information about
the first half of
the fourtheenth century, regarding France and England.

But who knows already a lot about this
historical period, skip directly to

”MY COMMENTS ON THE POST OF KATHRYN WARNER
ON HER BLOG: EDWARDTHESECONDBLOGSPOT”

I did a genealogical post recently about Henry of Lancaster’s grandchildren which seemed to go down rather well, and here’s one about some of the grandchildren of Roger Mortimer, lord of Wigmore and first earl of March (25 April 1287 – 29 November 1330) and Joan Geneville (2 February 1286 – 19 October 1356). The couple married in 1301 and had four sons and eight daughters (see Ian Mortimer’s The Greatest Traitorfor more info): Edmund (the eldest son and Roger’s heir), Roger, Geoffrey, John, Margaret (the eldest daughter), Isabella, Joan, Maud, Agnes, Katherine, Beatrice and Blanche. Talking of the latter, here andhere are pics of Blanche’s stunning effigy in Much Marcle, Herefordshire. Please take a moment to have a look. Isn’t she beautiful? Look at the way her gown is made to spill over the edge of the tomb, her hands clutching a rosary, her tight-fitting gown and head-dress in the style of the mid-fourteenth century. Stunning. And here is the effigy of Blanche’s sister Katherine and her husband the earl of Warwick, in Warwick.

A post about some of the grandchildren of Henry, earl of Lancaster(1280/81 – 22 September 1345), who was Edward II’s first cousin, Isabella of France’s uncle, Earl Thomas’s younger brother and heir,Blanche of Artois’s son, grandson and nephew of kings of England, great-grandson, brother-in-law and uncle of kings of France, half-brother of the queen of Navarre, and also descended from kings of Castile, Aragon and Germany and the Holy Roman and Byzantine emperors.

Today is the 696th anniversary of the death of Piers Gaveston, run through with a sword and beheaded at Blacklow Hill, Warwickshire, on 19 June 1312.The story of Piers’ death – abducted from the earl of Pembroke’s custody by the earl of Warwick and killed in the presence of the earls of Lancaster, Hereford and Arundel – has been told so often I’m not going to bother repeating it here. Instead, I’ll look at some lesser-known aspects of the whole sordid business.

This post is about a man I’ve always found absolutely fascinating: the man who was the de facto ruler of England for much of the 1320s, until his hideous execution at Hereford on 24 November 1326. In a recent poll, he was voted most villainous Briton of the 14th century, and got 9% of the vote for the worst Briton ever! Let’s face it, a man who extorted money and lands from rich widows (including his own sister-in-law), who became a pirate when he was exiled from England, and who was almost certainly the lover of his wife’s uncle, is waaay more interesting to write about than a man who helped little old ladies to cross the road (though maybe he did that too, who knows?)